Championing Girls' Rights On and Off the Field

In these extraordinarily challenging times, we at TYTW send our warmest and loving thoughts to each of you, and our sincerest wishes for your health and safety. We are deeply grateful for your support of the football/soccer program in Kenya, and wanted to provide an update on what TYTW is doing to address our girls’ emergency needs brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Following global trends to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Kenyan government ordered the shutdown of schools and the rescue center run by our partner Samburu Girls Foundation (SGF). These closures mean that all 330 beneficiaries in Kenya are now once again vulnerable to forced marriages, FGM, and other harmful practices.

TYTW mobilized immediately to inject urgently needed resources for sanitizing, food, medical support, staff logistical capacity and transportation, improved safety programming, and more. We have increased staff capacity in Kenya to support alternative safe stay arrangements for girls in the most dangerous situations, increased case management and monitoring through home visits, and increased community reconciliation measures which include a signed family agreement on no harmful practices, in order to facilitate the safest possible living situation transitions for the girls. TYTW has also put immediate health measures into place, including soap distribution and public health education measures on handwashing and how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

With our partners, TYTW has mobilized emergency intervention measures to halt a planned mass forced female genital mutilation (FGM) of 70 young girls in a northern village, in order to prepare the girls for marriage. Unfortunately, as girls lose the support of protective institutions like schools and centers, and are increasingly perceived as burdens in the home, their likelihood of being forced into harmful situations like these will continue to rise. TYTW is also taking the proactive measure of launching a Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign imploring families not to force their young daughters into marriage and FGM. The radio campaign is slated to reach 400,000 households in northern pastoralist Kenya, where experts estimate as many of 50% of girls are forced into marriage before their 12th birthdays.

It is not clear when the recreational aspect of this program will be able to resume, but in the meantime, TYTW and our partners are working tirelessly to maximize the safety and protection of the girls served.

We understand that these are highly stressful and uncertain times for everyone. For those who are able to make an emergency gift, you can ensure the protection of the most vulnerable girls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are sending our love to each of you. By standing together, we will emerge from these challenging days stronger than ever.

“I go to the pitch to play, and all things disappear. I get well and focus on [soccer].” - Jane, 18.

Dear Generous Supporters,

We are ecstatic to announce that the Samburu Girls Foundation (SGF) / Falling Waters Team has won their regional soccer championship! Thanks to your help providing resources and support, our girls played their way to victory on the pitch.

In partnership with SGF and Falling Waters Secondary School, TYTW supports the 30 girls on this regional soccer team comprised almost completely of child marriage survivors. TYTW’s support makes possible safe shelter, school tuition and board, soccer and school uniforms, food, and daily supplies for the girls. Not only does this program cultivate leadership skills, but it encourages bonding with fellow survivors and teammates which opens new frontiers in psychosocial support, a cornerstone of emotional healing from trauma.

Remarkably, two of our star players, Jane and Miriam, are in tryouts this week for the Kenya National Women’s Team, the Harambee Starlets in preparation for the 2020 Turkish Cup next week in Antalya, Turkey! Just last year, SGF rescued Jane and Mariam, keeping them safe from child marriage. Now they are playing soccer on the global stage and representing survivors everywhere!

Join us in congratulating Jane and Mariam for this enormous honor!

Thank you for helping to build a pathway to healing and leadership for these girls, so they may achieve their fullest potential!

About Project Reports

Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.

WARNING: Javascript is currently disabled or is not available in your browser. GlobalGiving makes extensive use of Javascript and will not function properly with Javascript disabled. Please enable Javascript and refresh this page.